Feb 06, 2003 09:54 PM
5092 Views
(Updated Feb 06, 2003 09:54 PM)
(Hello people! writing after a while :D)
To begin with, let me tell you that im a phone freak. Ive done research on GSM technologies and written several papers on it. I strive to get a phone before it is available in the market to the genral public.
Ive had this phone (8390 for the North American market) for more than a year now and im extremely pleased with the ease of use and the battery life.
I will start with the Pros of the phone : It is very small, almost the size of the motorola v60g clamshell phone but without the clamshell design. I like answering the phone just using ONE hand unlike the v60g where it becomes almost impossible. I also like the phone to be small. After trying various phones including the t68i, siemens, panasonic and motorola v70, I decided that the Nokia 8310 best suited my needs. Its standard features include GRPS capabilities, easy SMS messaging, chrome design and a comfortable keypad. It includes E-mail, text and picture messages,Predictive text input,10 built-in text message templates and 10 built-in picture message templates. The phonebook can store upto 500 contacts and each contact can have upto 5 numbers (we did not have this feature in the previous versions of Nokia). It is WAP and GPRS enabled. You can also synch with your pc using the Nokia 8310/8390 pc suite. The best part about it is IRDA, through which you can synch the phone with the IR port on ur computer (most laptops have it). Some other new features include a stop watch, countdown timer and the standard alarm clock. You are given the ability to record messages upto 3 minutes while in a conversation and also record memos if you suffer from amnesia like me ;)
The advertised weight is 2.9 ounces. It also has an illuminated light display with super bright white LEDs. Games include Snake II, Bumpers and Pairs II though I have no time to be playing games. It has removeable front and back covers so you can change the entire housing once the cover is all scratched up. It uses the same battery as the 8290 and 8890 (aftermarket batt costs abt $10 on ebay).
This phone is also claimed to be the first North American GPRS phone. Another feature that I liked was ''Voice Recognition''. My phonebook is almost full and it would take a while and would be really annoying if I had to search for the numbers. So I have set up voice dialing for the 3 numbers that I use the most. All I have to do is push ''Names'' and say the name of the person. It repeats the name in your pre-recorded voice and dials the number. You can also set up profiles with voice recognition. The voice recognition is exceptionally good on this phone and is better than any other voice recognition enabled phone I have used in the past.
Cons: When I tried the t68i with the bluetooth headset, I fell in love with it. I miss bluetooth capabilities on this phone. Though Im not too fond of the t68, Im crazy about the bluetooth headset. It retails for abt $100 and is absolutely worth it. I think the later models of Nokia will have this feature.
Though teh kaypad is easy to use, it tapers towards the end which makes it a little hard to use in the dark.
I guess I have written all the things that went through my mind. Bottomline is that if you are looking for a phone with good design, easy to use features, Nokia 8310 should be in your top 3 list.
